Cultures

During the time of Melaka, it attracted many different cultures and people from all over Asia. The first people who came were the Indians, they came and brought the religion Islam. They were the first people to come and set up quarters and start to live there. Soon after that between 1414 - 1459AD, other cultures also came into Melaka. Towards the end of the 1460s, the Javanese, Tamils, Indian, Arabs and Burmese traders had all set up quarters in Melaka. They lived in mud huts on the hillside over looking the town and harbour. Towards the back they had made farms and orchards which they made food from. One of the main reasons why each one of them different cultures wre there, were for the trade. Trade was money and everyone wanted money or some from of wealth.

Javanese - They came in the early days, because they were just over the strait. They traded goods and food. This was the beginning at around 1396AD.Tamils - Were traders from Sir Lanka, and their ancestors came from India.Arabs - Looking for wealth and also were traders. Came later they were the Japanese and the TamilsBurmese - Came from Burma. This was not far away from Melaka. They were traders as well.Chinese - Came from China, first to come look and trade. But later it was for protection as well.

Traders were not just the only people coming to Melaka, there were workers, sailors, soldiers, and all other types, and because of that, there were lots of different cultures and beliefs that made Melaka a very multi culture place. It was one of the only places that all people from different cultures lived together in peace. The main religion was Islam. (See Leaders/Religion) Because that the religion was Islam, Melaka ran around it. Traders from China were Buddhists as well. They all lived in peace because they knew that if war broke out that the trade would decrease.

One of the main influences was from India and China. (See Cultural Diffusion) China was protecting Melaka for some time. The large ships were going up and down the strait, which gave traders more pleasure of trade in safety. Soon after Raja Abdullah became into power, he started war on one other nation on the Island. When Raja Abdullah started war it was just after the Chinese left and stopped protecting them. This created a lot of problems. All cultures went up against the King, to make him stop, but it didn't work at all. This started in the 1500s, they started to revolt. When the Portuguese came all they saw was a lot of people from different places fighting against their king.

Society

There were many different types of Societies in Melaka, due to one reason. It was a sea port, which many sailors came to from around Asia.Meeting up there, and living there. The Arabs are very different from the Burmese, but they all lived there still. This was because it was a sea port and it was based on one religion but all the others followed it a bit because they wanted to live there.

Burmese, people came from Myanmar. They first came from the Tibet area and moved down towards the sea. In Myanmar they have many ethnic groups, and they all have their own culture and language. The language is based on all the same things, but still sounds a bit different. The Burmese wear sarongs which are fabric wrapped around you. Must of the people who have a religion are Buddhists of the Theravada tradition.

Tamils came from Sir Lanka and Southern India. They are now found all over the modern world. They never had a simple group but many groups are called Tamils, they spread around Sir Lanka and to India right up to the Middle East. They have farms and small villages, built water dams. One of them is still in use today. It is said that they came from Iran but this is not proven, but moved to Southern India, and Sir Lanka. From Sir Lanka they were sailors and ended up in Melaka.

Arabs, they thought that they are descendants of Shem, son of Noah based on the writings of the Qur'an. They lived in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. They have two different ethnic groups, Āriba and Must'aribah these mean different things. One Pure Origin and the other is Arabised Arabs. They came to Melaka looking for wealth and trade. They have been around for a long time before the Malays.

Javanese, are from Java or what is called Indonesia today. They have only one religion, Islam, but still some follow Christianity. The family comes from a Java society, that's where their name comes from. Most of the people there were farmers because of the rich soil. The Javanese lived in Sumatra which is on the top of Indonesia, next to the Strait of Melaka. They were very migration type, people always moving within Indonesia. They were next to Melaka, over the strait, which opened trade easily.

Chinese are from China. In China they had many different religions but the main one was Buddhists and they are still around today. Many people were farmers because China is very flat in many places. They enjoyed the water, that's why China had very fast/large boats in the 1400s. The Chinese people honour family a lot and still do today. Trade was their main thing due to the large country they lived in.